Coming out of its tough weekend matches with an even record, the Big Red women’s ice hockey team (2-2-0 overall, 2-2-0 ECAC) beat Providence (3-2-1 overall, 1-2-1 ECAC) in a thrilling 4-2 contest on Friday, but suffered a 4-0 defeat to Northeastern (5-1-0 overall, 3-1-0 ECAC) Saturday night.
With Providence finding the net first on a power play, Cornell was quick to answer. Seventeen seconds after the Friars’ goal, freshman forward Bri Jentner evened the score with assists from sophomore forward Lindsay Murao and junior assistant captain Jenel Bode.
In the second period, the Friars had eleven shots on goal while Cornell sophomore goaltender Sanya Sandahl recorded a phenomenal ten saves. After testing Sandahl, Providence finally hit the net late in the second period on another man advantage to take a 2-1 lead heading into the final minutes.
This season, the third period has been a weakness for Providence and Cornell capitalized on that weakness. At 1:11 in the final period, Jentner tallied another goal, again with assists from her linemates, Murao and Bode.
Less than two minutes later, Cornell achieved what it has been working so hard to achieve this season – a power play goal. Junior forward Erinn Perushek sent a high slapshot towards the net and Bode deflected it for the game-winner. The Red did not stop here, as Murao scored an empty-net goal with 31 seconds remaining in the match. Bode garnered her fourth assist of the game with this play.
It was the same old story for Bode, who came through for the Red offensively yet again. She had an amazing game against Providence as she tied her career highs for points and assists in a game with four points and three assists.
Saturday night, against Northeastern, the Red’s offense could not finish.
While Cornell outshot the Huskies 25-20, it could not score against the second-ranked team in the ECAC. Senior goaltender Erika Silva was impenetrable in the net, allowing the Red very few second and third chances to score.
Northeastern played a rough game and racked up the penalties, but unfortunately, the Red could not produce on any of its five power play opportunities, a problem that Cornell has been working on for the past week. It was a second period surge for the Huskies, which produced three goals in the first ten minutes. While the Red bounced back with offensive stamina in the third, its seventeen shots on goal were unsuccessful in preventing Northeastern’s shutout victory.
“I don’t think we have enough confidence in ourselves right now. We just need more practice and a little more time to get used to each other. We need to realize that we are a good team that is capable of beating anyone in the league,” senior co-captain Dani Bilodeau said of the weekend contests.
Archived article by Kelli Larsen